Chimamamanda is an acclaimed Nigerian writer. She comes from Abba in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, was published in 2003 and won the Best First Book award in the 2005 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Chimamanda's second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, named after the flag of the short-lived Biafran nation, which will soon be made into an Hollywood movie, is set before and during the Biafran War. Her third book is a collection of short stories titled The Thing Around Your Neck was published in April 2009 and has gotten great reviews from critics. Recently, Chimamanda gave a fascinating talk - The Danger of a Single Story - where she tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice - and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding of who they are.